


a walk home

by stayfrosty_royalmilktea



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Normal High School, Fluff, High School, Keith plays drums, Lance is cute as always, M/M, Soft Keith/Lance (Voltron), sometimes it’s nice to be cute and not depressing and also trope okay >:(
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:07:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23820556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stayfrosty_royalmilktea/pseuds/stayfrosty_royalmilktea
Summary: a typical tuesday afternoon, keith spends his time walking home,  staring off in the distance and listening to music. but what happens when he bumps into *the* kid from his English class?
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 50





	a walk home

To breathe is a weird thing.  
Keith couldn’t really describe it, life just seemed like a myriad of strange occurrences, why did the now-wilting trees that were scattered around him produce oxygen? Why did he need oxygen to breathe? What even is oxygen? And lastly, _why_ was he so interested in a person he barely even knew? As his brain hummed along, pondering these questions, the song changed, and it didn’t take long for him to recognise the melody.

**faux - the orchestrated omens**

He loved everything about this band, it was a lot softer than what he usually listened to but his favourite thing to do was get lost in the music. He followed the drum part intently, nothing particularly crazy, a few fills here and there, it definitely sounded more jazzy than he was expecting. As he let his thoughts wander (an unwise decision, he admits) he thought back to 4th period…

_“Weird, isn’t it?”  
Keith looked up from his desk, obviously completely unaware of how deserted it was. Huh, looks like class ended. He turned his head slightly to the right, to find him, school supplies hugged into his chest with colourful pins, distributed haphazardly on his backpack straps. His freckled, terracotta brown skin gleaming underneath the light entering through the half-drawn curtains. His hair was tousled in a deliberate way, and his posture was surprisingly straight. His lips were in a half smile, awaiting a response._

_“Oh, uh, sorry, what?” Keith replied. Smooth._

_“How things just… work out, in A Midsummer Nights Dream. The only real reason it all pieces together is the supernatural, the fairies, who are facing problems of their own. Things fall into place, well, only because Puck complicated things a bit. It makes me wonder if there’s anything out there._

_The boy picked up his school-issued copy of A Midsummer Nights Dream and brought his attention to the cover, which showed a love-stricken Titania and a transformed Bottom, caught in a dynamic pose._

_“Probably not the best idea to fixate over that relationship, considering it’s the doing of a spiteful fairy king and his loyal henchmen, but you know! I’m just thinking out loud.” The boy glances at his phone._

_“Whoops! Don’t want to take up your time, I’ll see you soon.” The boy waved and before Keith could blink, he vanished. He blinked a few times, confused.  
His voice was even cuter than Keith could’ve imagined._

Keith brought himself out of his train of thought, it was decently long walk home, which he didn’t really mind. He couldn’t stop thinking about the boy (whose name he doesn’t even know!), to try and distract himself, he breathed in deeply and focused in on his surroundings.

The arrival of Autumn was going according to plan, the air was crisp and weather perfect. The slight breeze blew through Keith’s unruly locks and the hint of warmth from the sun soaked into his skin. He could certainly go for a hot chocolate right now but didn’t feel particularly up to going to some café where he’d have to order something from someone and concluded that he could just make one when he arrives home.

He felt the crunch of the sparse leaves sprinkled over the sidewalk and ducked to avoid various tree branches, it certainly made him feel taller. And before he knew it, he was aware of what his hands were doing, he shuffled them around, before eventually moving them into his hoodie pockets, where his phone was, he started tapping it, following the rhythm of the newly shuffled song in his playlist. Ah, an old favourite. As the guitar riff played and the singers rough vocals started, he tilted his head to the side and thought…

_Keith let his mind wander, the sticks possessing every part of his body. He didn’t really know what he was doing, but he stuck with it. He thinks and experiments with a funky 6/8 beat, focusing on the crash symbol, interchangeably switching between the snare drum and hi-hats. He speeds up the tempo, his heart thumping at the same speed, almost like a metronome… Ba dum, cha, crash, bad um, ba tiss…  
His solo session was halted at the sound of the door creaking open. In walks The Boy, hands behind his back, cheeks slightly red._

_“I’m so sorry, excuse me, I’m just looking for my friend Allura’s guitar lead…” The Boy ventures around the room, searching, his face scrunched up in thought. He looks towards the amp and walks quickly towards it, picking it up and then looking at Keith._

_“Uh, thanks! Sorry for distracting you,” He scratches the back of his head and the corner of his mouth twitches up. “you sounded really good though!”_

_“Oh, um, thank you.” Keith smiles back, to which The Boy leaves the room, shutting the door silently behind him._

_Keith stares at the glass panel in the door, wondering if he’ll come back, or if he’s still there._

It’s so odd how you can know so many subtle things about a person without really knowing them. You pick up on their laugh, the way they sit, the leg they stand on, where the glimmer in their eyes rest. Obviously, you can’t really know any of this stuff without staring at someone for what should be a socially unacceptable amount of time, but…

He clutched his phone and brought it out of his pocket, turning it on to check the time, huh. It hasn’t been too long since he started walking, and he’s only three songs into his journey. Time goes slow, but in the best way possible when he’s just in his own thoughts. Its different at school, other teenagers bantering their way down the halls, teacher sipping on coffee mugs, people complaining about the ugly school carpet, it was sometimes overwhelming, and Keith found solitude in places like the library and music rooms.

He was approaching his last year of high school steadily, and it certainly didn’t turn out how he thought it would. He recalls his first day, a freshman, in a slightly too big flannel and a panic attack waiting to happen. Middle school, albeit a strange time for everyone, seemed cold and uncaring to Keith. His older brother, Shiro, was already in his junior year of high school, and he felt considerably alone.

It wasn’t that Keith didn’t want to talk to anybody, it was just the fact he didn’t know how. His whole life he’d only had his adoptive parents and brother, and it certainly was hard to make friends with other people, they never seemed to like the same things he did. Shiro did the best he could, but Keith (especially lonely 14-year-old Keith) was not willing…

_“C’mon, Keith! Tell me you talked to someone today!” Shiro sat cross-legged on Keith’s duna._

_“Uh, yeah? Mr Smythe asked me how I was in history today, I said ‘Good’… uuh.” Keith trailed off and looked up at Shiro’s warm smile.”_

_“I know how hard it is for you, Keith, but there really isn’t much to lose in trying. I mean, has mum showed you the photos of ME in middle school?” Shiro’s eyes crinkled up, and he laughed._

_Keith grinned, “Oh yeah, the green braces suited you, really brought out your eye colour. Not to mention you were as red as a tomato!” Shiro gently punched his arm._

_“See what I mean! We’re all so different and insufferable in middle school! You only have one more year to get through and you’re off to high school. Everyone is considerably better. You’ll find people.”_

_Shiro had graduated last year and planned a trip back home to tell his parents his supervisor ranked him as top cadet in his year at the air force, and he might be going somewhere big in the near future._

_“I still really miss you, though, and I can’t believe you might end up being farther away”, Keith was happy for Shiro, he really was, but was unhappy at the prospect of only seeing him so scarcely and briefly._

_“I know, bud, it’s hard, if I get it, I’m going to miss you guys so much.” Shiro perked up “Did I tell you what I might be doing?”_

_“No” Keith replied, he could tell how excited Shiro was, and leaned in in anticipation._

_“I don’t know if this is 100% accurate, butttt” Shiro smirked “I was told the Garrison, which is some really cool military organization not too far from here; is looking for some really talented pilots who could potentially be the next generation of astro-explorers! Like, further than the milky way explorers!”_

_Keith could feel himself light up, wow! He was so happy for Shiro, if this really was the case, Shiro could really be on his way to discovering other universes and even alien species._

_“Shiro! That’s amazing! You’ll have to send me a postcard or two from space” He smiled._

_“Don’t worry buddy, I definitely will”. Shiro surrounded Keith into a hug, and Keith felt the happiest he had in a while._

Keith smiled as he picked up his phone and scrolled to ‘Shiro’ in his contacts.  
_“Hey space ranger, hopes things are doing good.”_

Keith hit sent and put his phone back in his pocket. Closing his eyes and wondering what on earth Shiro could be doing right now.  
Before he knew it, he felt a sudden mass of force in front of him, and he opened his eyes, trying to maintain balance.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry, I should really watch where I’m-“ Keith looks to match the familiar voice to the owner and finds The Boy, hair considerably more disheveled and apologising profusely.

The boy smiles upon recognising the stranger he bumped into. “Hey! I’m sorry, have I introduced myself? My name is Lance!” The Boy (now known as Lance) gives Keith a toothy grin, he almost looks like a different person.

“Hi, uh, my names Keith.” He doesn’t know what he should do, should he go in for a handshake? A highfive? A hug?

“Nice to finally know your name, Keith” Lance brushes himself down, in the same outfit as before, skinny black casual jeans paired with a blue button up and a pastel pink sweater. Wow. This guy cannot get any cuter.

“You don’t mind if I walk with you?” Lance asks.

“Oh, no, not at all,” Keith responds, “where you headed to?” Keith takes his earbuds out and turns off his music, shoving them in his pocket.

“My streets Altean Crescent.” Lance replies, now on Keith’s right, closer to him than expected, but not too close.

“Oh cool, mines only a block or so away, Marmoran Road.” Keith is both nervous and excited, looks like he’ll be walking with Lance for a while.

It doesn’t take long for Lance to initiate conversation with Keith, he seems really sociable.  
“So, you play drums, right?” Lance asks.

“Yeah, I do.” Keith smiles, “I really enjoy them, it’s a fun instrument to play, I’ve been meaning to also pick up the bass guitar, just haven’t gotten around to it.”

“That’s really cool! I’ve never been a super musical person, I mean, I sing sometimes but so does everyone else.” Lance continues “My friend Allura, she’s really cool, she plays electric guitar, she’s like crazy good! And my friend, Pidge, she’s really good at piano, she can play like, any song, and Romelle is a really good bassist! Hunk and I usually just listen, it’s crazy how musically inclined they all are!” Keith is surprised he didn’t run out of breath, wow, he sure does like talking a lot, especially about all his friends.

“You’ve got a lot of friends, maybe you could form a band or something.” Keith says.

“Yeah, we totally should. What about you? Besides drumming, what do you usually do?” Its scary but also nice that Lance wants to know about him, and he can already feel his hands go a little clammy.

He shoves them in his pocket and continues walking.  
“Not much, I suppose? I try to focus on academics the most, music and drumming is my one hobby really.” Keith replies. God, he sounds boring, might as well scare the guy off now. His heart pangs in response to his pessimistic internal monologue and awaits Lance’s reply. 

“That’s always fine! If you ever need any recommendations for films or tv shows hit me up! I watch a lot of stuff, serious, symbolic or satirical.” Lance replies, grinning. The English student oozes out of him.

The walk continues, although Lance’s lanky legs are slightly longer, the pace remains relatively the same, which Keith can appreciate. 

“So, if you’re so into academics, what are you thinking about doing after school?” Lance quizzes.

“I’m not particularly sure? I mean my brother Shiro is a pilot, which I think would be really fun, I mean, all I’ve really done are those pilot simulation games-“ Keith blushes at his unnecessary and quite frankly sad confession. “but there’s some exhilarating about being in the air, I think.” 

“That’s super interesting!” Lance nods, “Not sure what I was expecting from you to be honest, from what I’ve seen you seemed to be the silent sultry emo boy drummer…” Lance pauses, flustered, “Uh! Not that you’re sultry or anything, I mean, uh.” 

Keith is admittedly shocked and taken aback and this sudden change of composure and conversation in Lance. So Keith just mumbles a few incoherent words that Lance pretends to decipher to change the topic. 

The transition from bright red to the usual terracotta skin of Lance’s face takes its time, and it sinks once they turn the street. 

“This is my house” Lance turns his head and gives Keith a half smile. He fiddles with his hands. 

“You should come sit with everyone at lunch tomorrow, I think they’d all really like you! I mean, if you’re okay with that” Lance questions.

“Oh!” Keith exclaims, “Uh, yeah, I’d like that. We have English just before, right?” Keith hates to admit the pant in his chest is far more evident.

Lance looks at Keith, as if contemplating something, and before Keith can query, he inches closer and kisses the dark haired boy on the cheek. Keith’s cheeks flare up at the instant, and he can’t even speak. 

“We have some pretty epic mini food fights sometimes” Lance says, equally as blushed. “They don’t call me sharpshooter for no reason”, and so he walks towards his front door, waving as he goes along. Keith waves back, and once Lance enters his house, he touches his cheek.

Maybe high school wouldn’t be so bad after all.


End file.
